Why Does Jack Quartz hate Johann Krauss So Much?
by Ngoc Chau
Summary: A sort of pre-quel before Geminis Gemenis & Aquarius aka G&A. Why did Johann fall in love with Nancy? What were her fêelings toward him when they first met? Most of all, why does Quartz hate him so much? Fluff. Johann/OC Nancy Le Please read and review.


**Ngoc Chau does not own Hellboy**

**Okay, so this is a companion to Gemenis & Aquarius and Geminis & Aquaruis.  
Now that I think about it, they're pretty much the same, so I'm just going to call them G&A.**

**As the title and summary hints; this is when Nancy and Quartz come to America for the first time and she meets Johann. **

**It also sort of explains more thoroughly why she feels a bit closer to him. It's also another look as to why and how Johann just... falls in love with her.**

**It's nothing particularily special, but it's sweet in a sense.**

**Please read and review.**

* * *

_"Princess Of The Night"  
_by  
Modern Talking

* * *

**"All passengers... coming to New Jersey. Please report to Gate 417."**  
The announcement roared. Yes, if passengers from elsewhere were coming to America, where else would they go; Micky D?

Here she was; in America, New Jersey, the Big Apple. Her heart was racing as all the sounds around her surrounded her, complete darkness. Why did she agree to do this job position? She could've stayed back in Japan and just do the office work she always did.  
But.. what if they found out about her here?  
It was enough that an entire base was afraid of her and resented her with contempt, but another one as well? She did hear that there were special agents here as there were in Japan... what if one of them could read minds and they would know about her?  
Why did Quartz convince her to come? Why did she even agree? So many questions buzzed and repeated in her head.

Quartz unhooked his arm from hers and grabbed her gloved hands, "Nancy, I know you're scared, but you don't have to be. Remember, we came here to try new things-"

She interrupted him, "I am not scared, Agent Quartz... Besides, what new things are there to try? We have done enough traveling in our work."

He cleared his throat, "That's different..... It's honestly okay to be nervous about being somewhere.. different. It's normal. Everybody feels that way for the first time."

She bit her ip. She wasn't scared or nervous... She was annoyed at having to leave the native soil that she had known for most of her life and brought to this cold miserable place.  
"How many times must I tell you; I am not scared at all. If you keep spouting this nonsense, I will shut my mind from you."

She heard his tap his hand against his chest, "Ouch. I'm not angry or anything since I know that anger and denial are the first stages of anxiety... I think."  
There was no way to get through that man's head.. he was stubborn with those powers of his.

"Hey, are you with _Bruttleholm_?" A voice called out from the darkness.

She nudged at Quartz, "Who is there, Agent Quartz?"

"Calm down now, no need to get excited. I think he's from the BPRD."

Really, the man in front of her was from the BPRD? She then decided to tap into Quartz's mind. From what she was reading, she could see a man... he looked average and normal, nothing out of the ordinary with his thin face and short brown hair. He had a smile on his face and in his hands were a bag from Blockbusters and a large pack of files.  
The man asked again, "Are you with Bruttleholm?"

The view suddenly started shaking up and down, apperently Quartz was nodding eagerly. _Bruttleholm?_ That was the.. password.... Was the carefree-looking man in front of them actually with...?  
Oh Buddha. Don't tell her that the agents in the US.. were so... so.. easy going like that! She nodded as well, her arms tightening around Quartz's arm even more.

The man in front of her suddenly asked while pointing down, "Uh... is she okay or something? Why is she wearing that?"

The vision skipped from the man to her, looking straight with her blinders on and her sick mask. It must've been her mask..  
Quartz looked back to the man in front of them, "She's not too used to this cold weather and she had a small cough."

The man started nodding, then he tucked the load of folders that was in one of his hands under the arm carrying the bag from Blockbusters. He held out his hand, "I'm Greg Granite. The car is waiting for you outside and don't worry about your bags. It's already been taken care of."

Quartz grabbed Granite's hand and shook, "I'm Jack Quartz. This is Nancy Le." Granite seperated his hand from Quartz and held it down. Quartz's gaze followed the hand. Nancy hesitantly shook his hand with her gloved ones. His handshake was firm, but... there were still some... sort of feeling to it. Mind you, she didn't have Quartz's power of empathy, but she was a woman and she could tell what was happening around her.

He asked, "Wow, you must really be cold, huh?"

She nodded, answering, "Not really... the weather here is quite different from the weather in the Kanto. It is very cold compared to the winters I have experienced, but I am tolerable."  
Nancy slipped her hand out of his and held back onto Quartz.

"Oh, you can speak english?"

She nodded once more, "I speak fairly good english."

He nodded and turned on his heel. "Okay, so let's go." His footsteps echoed to her in the busy airbort that was mingled with people and their blending voices. She bit her lips a bit, focusing only on his sounds, on his footsteps.

As they started walking out, Quartz leaned down slightly and whispered in her ear, "He's surprised."

"Surprised, Agent Quartz? What do you mean by that?"

He cleared his throat and explained, "I could tell it from his handshake. He's a.. fairly happy guy. He's very open-minded and accepting. But he's suprised."

"I do not see how he should be surprised. I mean, they have been expecting the 2 of us, correct?" she asked.

"I guess, but I only sent in your applications. I think he's only surprised to see me. Still, I thought that we were like a 2 for 1 deal; where you go, I go."

"Yes, however, if they are surprised.. it is their fault for not being prepared." She assured him as she nearly tripped over her own feet.

The butterflies in her stomach was buzzing. Okay, she had just spoken her first of english (excluding Quartz) to an english person and it had gone well.. Good. Perhaps she could actually make it happen, perhaps she could work well. Maybe, she could start off talking to them, share a little with them about her then have them tell something to her. They could possibly discuss things outside of work, go on outings like years before, have.. fun. She breathed in as she thought up more possibilities of her new life. They might or might not know about her secret. Still, she should think about a way to tell them without anyone freaking out...  
If all agents were as open and friendly as this Granite, that could work out very easily... Or she could do what she always did; just avoid everybody and be completely anti-social.

She wondered which one she would choose to follow; Quartz words or her old ways. They started walking out the door. Right to the front.. or was it the side. She couldn't tell, when was it that an airport had cars on all sides of the buildings?

They walked up the block to a big black car. The car blended very well in the darkness of the night and the dim-litted lights on the streets. She noticed that Quartz was very attentive to the windows. From the windows were smoke, like someone was smoking.  
Oh Buddha, she hoped that none of the agents she would be working with was a smoker. ... Ji.. Ji-Ling was a smoker and it annoyed her endlessly when she kept reminding him of how bad it was for him and it would send him to an early grave. Now.. it didn't matter.

She was snapped out of her thoughts of nostalgia when a sudden wind bit at her back. Even in her thickest trench coat, she could still feel the winter air. Strange; all the streets and buildings were uncovered, all black and dark without a single ounce of snow. From her studying, there should've been snow by this time in this country. How could it not snow by now?  
Most of all, how could it be so cold while there weren't snow?

* * *

Johann sat in the car, his extoplasm hissing violently. One of the agents next to him waved some of the gas away and started coughing, "Jeez, Doc. If I didn't know better, I would say that you were nervous... Hey, do you mind if I open the window. I'm choking right here!" He pressed his hand onto the car button and the window ran down with a _whirrr..._

"I apologize, agent. But, ja, I am nervous." Johann confessed as another hiss blew out and the little knobs that was his mouth clicked up and down, his back jerked up a bit like he was hicupping and he bounced a bit in his seat. At the moment, he looked more like a recovering smoker rather than an esteemed doctor in Ectoplasmic Research. He hated that stupid habit of his, always blowing off more ctoplasm than he would when he was excited, nervous, happy, mad, or sad. It was so embarassing!

Another one of the agents who was sitting up front turned around and asked in a somewhat ironic voice, "If you sort of think about it, didn't you come this way? I mean.. You came in a plane while the rest of us were waiting in the car, just wondering what sort of guy you were like. Whether you were, y'know, nice and.. not an asshole of a jerk.. You turned out good, we ain't disappointed by that."

"Danke, but.. but.. Zhat's exactly vhy I'm so nervous. Zhe folder vizh zhe information says zhat zhe new agent is very... unique. Ozher zhan zhat, I know nozhing personel about zhe agent; not even his name. Vhat if he und I doesn't get along vizh each ozher? Ve're on zhe same team und vhat if ve get into arguments all zhe time. Even Agent Hellboy doesn't take too kindly to me und ve spend most of our time fighting." he explained in exasperation.

A different agent assured, "So what? Doc, you and Hellboy get along fine, you guys still work together and all your missions go well. Besides, it's not normal if people don't argue, it's... just weird, it's like you know absolutely nothing about each other that you can't fight about."

Then the second agent asked, "Hey, but didn't I hear from Hellboy that on that one mission a few months to the Amazon, you met this old lady?"

Oh, Gott. Hellboy couldn't have told him that. He wouldn't, he promised... but then again, he was always looking for ways to put him in misery. But at least he didn't hate him like he did with Manning. That would've been just awful. That time in the amazon.. it didn't mean a single thing. Even Abe told him so and Liz backed him up on it... however, Abe was a little bit depressed then and was probably just looking for an easy way out and Liz was in her maternity phase. Anyway, it didn't mean anything!!!

The agent continued, like he was pondering every single detail, "I heard... it's along the lines of; You're going to have someone walk into your life only to throw it into chaos. Wasn't that it? So, isn't it sort of coincidental that about a month after you get that message, we're having a new agent come in. It's so.. kismet."

Another agent asked, "Shut up, Bob! Don't make it worse.... Is that why you're so jittery? Jeez... It's going to be fine. Besides, he's human. That's what I heard from Washington and.. what other 'unique' agents might Japan have? So far, we're the only ones with all of them! Anyway, just think; you, Hellboy, Abe, and Liz are about as strange, no offence, as it gets."

Johann nodded as best as he could, his thick plastic neck creaking as he did so.

Just then, the car door opened and an agent greeted outloud, "Granite here, I found them."

Johann took a deep breath.. not that he needed to breath, exactly.. and he readied himself to greet the new agent. There was nothing to worry about. There was absolutely nothing to worry about. Everything was going to be alright, as long as he made a good first impression and composed himself, he and this new agent would get along just fine. Not so much arguing as he and Hellboy and hopefully like he with Liz and Abe.  
He mentally crossed his fingers to hope for it.

* * *

Quartz stopped in mid-step.

He was not expecting what he was seeing. About 3 agents in the double back seat with another 2 agents at the front.. but in the middle of 2 of the agents.. was this thing. It was something in the shape of a person with a huge dome on the top of it's head. It looked just like a bug; a bug soldier to be specific. It's brown and mossy green patches were done up in an interesting way, but still looked crude. He wondered if it was someone in a costume... or was it really one of those special agents he heard that was in America. It was sitting back in a relaxed position, but still seemed attentive.

Quartz questionned whether or not Nancy was using him to see right now. If she was, was she actually seeing the thing in front of him? She tightened her grip on his arm. From that touch, he could feel a sudden array of emotions; fear, pity, curiosity, and anxiety. Yeah, she could see him. As he stepped into the car first to make a way for her, his grip on her loosened a bit, Nancy stumbled over something and tripped backwards onto the street all of a sudden.

All the agents in the car and the thing suddenly jumped, resulting in Quartz nearly having a fright attack as well.  
The shock had been too much for her!  
... Okay, that was a bad joke to make of his young ward, but still..

Greg went over to her side to try and help her out, but the thing jumped out of it's seat too and grabbed onto Nancy's shoulders.  
He lifted her right up, asking in a strong european accent, "Are you alright, fraulein? You're not hurt, are you?"

Quartz ran to her side and grabbed her by her hand again, standing awfully close to the talking thing.  
Strange... he could feel emotions coming from it. So it wasn't a robot, it was alive at least. It wasn't like Quartz was trying to see what it was feeling, it's impressions just blasted at him and he had no choice but to simply receive it.  
It.. it felt embarassed? And... worried? What the hell was going on?

The thing asked Nancy again, "Vhat are you vearing zhose zhings for! Hier, you probably couldn't see a zhing because of zhem!" His hands moved from her shoulders up to the sunglasses and her mask.

Quartz held up his hand and protested, "No, she needs those! It's rude to just remove something without someone's permission! Who do you think you are?!"

The thing stepped back slightly and tapped it's heels together. Another spray of white smoke came out as it took a bow, "Dr Johann Krauss, I am from the BPRD und zhese agents behind me have been sent to come for you..."  
He stood up and motionned his hand to the both of them, going back and forth. "By zhe vay, vhich vone of you is Agent Le?" he asked.

Nancy raised one of her gloved hands while her other hand was still holding onto him, her voice mumbled from behind the mask.

All of the agents, excluding Krauss and Granite, asked, "What did she say?"  
Quartz thought in annoyance, _'What? They can't hear her? Are they deaf or something? They had better start working on their hearing because that mask is part of the uniform!'_

She pulled down her mask and repeated outloud, "I apologize, it is just that I have a small cold and I would not want to spread germs. To get to the point, I am Agent Le."

There was a pause throughout the group when one of the agents who were sitting at the front of the car asked outloud, "And who's the guy with you?"

She bowed slightly and answered, "I apologize for not sending a message ahead.." Quartz complimented in glee to how polite his little girl was. "But, the man who is with me right now is my trusted partner and guide, Agent Quartz."

"Guide?" another agent asked from inside the car.

As he took a look at all of them, he couldn't help but think that they all looked similar to each other. Nancy informed with an articulated voice, though it was a bit cold, "I hope that it is mentionned in my profile, but I.. have a slight condition."

"Condition?"

Quartz shouted out, "What does it look like right now? Didn't any of you guys read the file? She's blind!!"

* * *

The new agent was.. a woman. And she was blind. Was this the agent that they had chosen to replace Liz? A blind girl with a pompous boor for a partner and a guide. Johann mentally slapped himself.  
How could this girl be a member of the BPRD? She didn't that much older than 14 and she was blind!!  
A hiss of ectoplasm hissed from him as he took a step towards the young girl. He placed one hand on her shoulder and suggested, "Vhy don't ve go in zhe car. Ve best get on our vay to headqvarters. Everybody is vaiting for you..."  
He added in, "Zhe both of you."

She nodded, slipping the mask back on her face. The man at her side, Quartz, was already walking close to her. She held onto his arm tight from what he could tell as he watched to 2 of them approach the car. He stepped in first, then she slowly crawled in.  
Johann held the top of her head and her back as she stepped in. He didn't want her to fall back again, she must've been horridly embarassed.

From under his touch, he could feel her frame, her frame that seemed to be made up of bones and just buried under all that clothes and leather. She seemed so small in his grasp. She must've been very weak. A little thing like her was too frail for this sort of work, she must've been sheltered all her life. He felt a tug in his non-existant chest, well, if she was going to be working with him, he would have to do his best to watch over her and make sure she wouldn't get hurt or even let anything close to her.

Still, there was something so strange with her. Something that was so habitual as though he did hold her in his hands before.... He wondered where such a feeling could've come from, it had been years, decades even, since he had touched another woman. But holding her felt as though he had held her already all his life and existance... It was a curious sensation.

As soon as she was seated, right next to Quartz, her hand locked tight with his hand, and sat between him and.. Granite, was it? Yes, that was his name, she sat right between the 2 men. Johann made his way back to his seat right across from her. The door closed and the engine started purring. They started moving, now, it would be about an hour or so back to the base. One of the agents up in the front seat pulled out a walkie-talkie, "Yeah, Arkose here. We've got the agent... It's a girl."  
Some sort of mumbling could be heard on the other line as he held it close to his ear, "There isn't 1 agent, there's 2 of them... I'm not going to tell you why, but you'll see. Honestly, it's a nice surprise."

Johann sighed as he leaned back in his seat.

She sat straight, in the dim light in the car, not much could be said about her. It was as though all her clothes were just thrown on her and she was hiding in the bundle. He privately chuckled at the thought of her like that. She was completely covered in black, not a single ounce of skin could be seen through her.  
Finally, one of the agents sitting up front turned around and asked, "Don't you think it's okay now to take off that mask? I mean, we won't get sick. If we can face... all sorts of weird creatures, I definitely think we're strong enough for a cold."

She seemed hesitant to the idea, but still removed her mask.

Immediately, his view turned to her lips. They were so small and pouty, just like a doll's. He wondered if she was wearing gloss like all the other young girls he had seen on the job, her lips were so shiny and pink. He reeled back in his thoughts. Why was he thinking so much about her lips all of a sudden? They were like any other woman's lips!  
Oh... when was the last time he had seen a colour like that on a woman's face; the contrast of such pale skin surrounding rosy embouchment? He gulped his sudden nervousness and ectoplasm hissed out again as he.. he remembered a face from long ago.

The man in front of him, Quartz, jumped and yelped, "What the hell was that?"

He answered in an outrage, "_Zhat_ vas ectoplasm. Zhere is no need to be _so afraid_ of it, Agent Quartz. It is als harmless as zhe air ve breathe."

"Well..." his face turned to Nancy who sat calmly and straight as.. a doll. She was exactly like a doll now that he thought about it. Someone's creation sent.. to throw him into chaos, perhaps? Was the girl the one that the old woman had predicted? He continued on, "Well... look! You got that weird smoky stuff all over her!"

She looked around, all of a sudden it seemed that she had sunken deeper into herself. "It is no matter, Agent Quartz. I.. I see that there is no problem with the occasional brush with ectoplasm."

God, he just couldn't take his eyes off her lips. They were so small and full, the way that they had moved as her little words came out... up and down, up and down, puckering and rising... He wondered what did her entire face look like. What would she look like indeed?  
He thought up of something, "Hier, Agent Le. Give me your glasses und I vill vipe avay zhe ectoplasm for you."

She shook her head, "I do not mind, I am sure it is no problem."

He was persistant, "It looks unprofessional of you, Agent le. Bitte, I vill vipe it avay qvick und zhat vill be it."

She bit her lips, all agents in the car looked with awe and curiosity. Were they suspecting him of something? Or were they just as interested as he was to seeing her face?  
Her gloved hands went to her sunglasses and slowly removed it, her head dipped as she did so. She handed it to him and it entered his metal hands with a _ting.  
'Look up. Look up_.' he chanted in his head. He wanted to see her face. Nancy turned her head up, her white eyes wide with blank emotion. A gasp traveled throughout the car and the agent who was driving even looked back quick before returning his eyes to the road.

She was beautiful.

His ghostly heart felt like it was jumping all over the place in his suit and he could even feel the heavy air overtop the heads of the agents. There was no question why. Her cropped bangs gave her a childlike innocence, but of course she was a child. Her face was round with infancy but developed with the budding of adulthood. Her pencil-thin eyebrows arched over her wide eyes. Her eyelashes were so long that they were casting a shadow over her cheeks. How they could've been kept away behind her sunglasses, he didn't know how. Her cheeks were so rosy too.  
Was she cold or blushing?

Agent Granite said out loud with no warning at all, "Hey, look at that! She's blushing! She's actually embarassed!"

Arkose snapped at him, his scruffy beard stretching as he spoke, "Idiot! How could she be embarassed? She's blind, she can't even see a thing! What's there to be embarrassed about?"

Quartz snorted, but then regained some of his composure and asked the agent in an endearing voice. He practically seemed to brood over her, "Are you alright? Are you cold?"

Her gloved hands which had been in her lap moved to Quartz and clutched his arm tight. She answered demurely as she seemingly nuzzled her head against his arm, "I am just fine, Agent Quartz. The weather is a tad colder than what I had expected and what I am used to, but I can endure."

As Johann wiped her sunglasses with a smooth cloth that one of the agents conveniently handed him, he felt a pang. They were very close for partners, extremely close. Did she have to lean in so close to him? He wondered what their relationship was like aside from partnership and guide-work.  
Were they relatives? No, that was a stupid assumption, but it soothed him. It was better to think of them as some long distance relative from each other or had a family like connection.  
No, impossible; he was much too old for her to be related in any way and she was asian while he was caucasian clearly.

The thought of them being lovers disturbed him also, but it was a strong possibilty at seeing how close they were to each other. How she always held him and how he always had his arm in her grip or around her. Though he was too old for her and she was too young for him, she needed someone who knew what the younger generation was like.  
He would've just thought of himself but he remembered as well, that he must've been older than the man in front of him. He was born some time between the Victorian era and the Edwardian era; of course, he was a few years older than the old Proffesor Bruttleholm! Even when his accident happened, he was almost 60! While Trevor Bruttleholm was barely meeting the 50 mark!

As he thought, he wondered why he had brought up the subject of the appropriate lover for her and why he had thought himself as the best canidate. He gazed upon her, she looked so familiar.. But who was it that she reminded him of so strongly? The name was right on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't place it.

All of a sudden, there was a little _tap._ He looked down; the cloth had ripped with a hole underneathe his fingertip where he was rubbing it over the sunglasses. He couldn't have been rubbing that hard. He held out the glasses to the 2 agents leaning against each other. "Hier, I may have viped it too much. It's best to check to see if zhere is any damage to it."

She rose up from her seat and held out her gloved hands. He gently placed it within her cupped hands and to his dismay put it back on her face. She stated in a quiet tone, "My shades are very strong with diamond dust in the lenses so it can withstand a lot of damage."

He nodded.

There was a quiet silence as they kept driving. The squares of light rolled over her face in the dark, Gott, the muteness was intense. He just wished he could talk to her, find something to talk about. But she was so quiet! And.. what he had in mind to say to her might border from flirting to sexual harassment.  
_'Are you seeing anyvone right now?  
Do you have einen freund?  
Are you busy zhis abend?  
Vould you like to go out for some kaffee, sometimes?'_

Granite cleared his throat hoarsely with loud volume as he asked, "So... how did you come to the BPRD?"

She sat up from her seat and replied with a clear voice, "... I was in the village of Nankan when Agent Quartz found me. I was being attacked... by a giant bird that had 9 heads and had been terrorizing the village for some time. The BPRD from Japan had come to investigate and research, then they found me."

There was an awkward pause.

"Actually, I meant... how did you _get_ into the BPRD?"

Arkos yelled from the front seat, "Greg, just shut the hell up! You're getting too personel!"

"But, I'm curious!" he defended himself by.

Agent Le sat back and inquired, "What do you mean by that? I do not understand your question."

Granite clarified sheepily, "I mean... you're blind. How can you... What do you do?..."

Arkos yelled again, "Just shut up!!"

Slowly but surely, there was a lightness in the car, everything felt airy. An agent named Chalk stutted, "Doc! Look at this!" Right in front of him was a pen. But it was floating and twirling right in his hand as though it was a tiny dancer. It spun and spun, quicker and quicker till finally.. it just stopped and dropped with a little _clack _on the carpeted floor at their feet. Quartz was smiling smugly.  
The pen that was one the ground just shot up to the ceiling and stabbed the polyester covering on the top. Every agent, even the 2 at the front, stared intently. The pen had levitated once more and penetrated through the metal enough to go in 2 inches deep.

Quartz turned to Granite and asked in a self-righteous tone, "There, does that answer you question?"

Granite looked up to the pen again and gulped. "So... you felt sorry for her and you threatned them to let you take her with you or else?"

Another awkward silence.  
Arkos roared, "Idiot, just shut up! You ask too many stupid questions! That's her power! She's a telekinetic!"

"How was I supposed to know that?!"

Johann took the folder from behind him and tossed it to him, "Hier, dummkopf."  
He caught it like a frisbee and opened it to start reading.

Johann turned his attention to the pen first then to the girl in front of him. "So... how long have you been vizh zhe BPRD, exactly?"

She answered, tilting her head in such a childish manner, "I have been with the BPRD since I was 15 years old. Though that is when I first started working alongisde with people. I was found with the BPRD when I was 7 years old."

Granite started laughing outloud.  
Chalk asked, "What's so funny, Greg?" Granite looked at Agent Le, snickering under his breath, "She's short."

Quartz shouted, "You don't need to point that out, you know!"

He still laughed and waved his hand in front of him, "No.. no.. but get this; she's old."

Agent Le cleared her throat and asked in an offensive way, "I do not see myself as old, Agent Granite. I am still growing and I am at the average height for a woman of my age."

"You're old but you look like a middle-schooler." he said too quickly.

The air got heavy quick, the lightness was gone. She huffed, "I apologize should my appearance seem too young for you, Agent Granite, but I am at the acceptable height and I am not old as you say."

He pointed to the file, "It says here; you're 27."

Quartz suddenly slapped Granite on the back of the head, "What's wrong with you? Can't you do math? She's not 27, she's only 17!"

His face dropped and he bent over to look at Le who was still sitting straight and looking ahead so blankly, "Oh.. sorry about that."

She turned to face his direction, "You should be careful in the near future with me. I tend to get rough with men like you."

Another pang enter Johann, though this wasn't sharp, it was more like.. tickling. He could only wonder what she meant by rough... he hoped for Granite, it would end up in bruises and a black eye.  
But another idea had entered his head with Agent Le still wearing leather as she was.. only a lot less... and with whips... He mentally smashed his head against the glass of his head dome as he knocked the thought out of his head. How did he even start thinking of her like that?

Granite puckered his lips and said in a silly voice, "Come on, don't be that way. I said I was sorry. If it makes you feel better, I'll take you out tonight. We'll go to a nice horror flick and I know a great sushi place, how's that?"

He spazzed... literally.  
Clouds and fogs of ectoplasm poured out from his suit everywhere and some of the agents were choking and yelling, "Open the windows! Open the windows!"

THe windows rolled down to have some of the smoke escaping like the car was on fire. He didn't mind that Agent Quartz was close to the young girl, they must've had some sort of bond that was close since they were partners. He didn't mind that the young girl was quiet and cold in some ways, being too innocent for some things.  
But he had to draw the line at Granite. He had just met her and he was already asking her out on a date?  
That was highly unprofessinoal! He goes out asking her for a date right in front of everybody and she's blushing while he does it. He hated it. He hated that Granite had just met the girl and could already act so friendly to her while he kept most of his distance away. Just because he was a young man who still had his body and wasn't even 30 yet... he was the opposite who was neither young or had his own body. More puffs of ectoplasm smoked out in puffs like the top of a chimmney from him.

Quartz snapped as well and stood up, almost crushing the poor girl under him as he tried to maul Granite. "No dating! No dating! Don't you even think about it! All of you guys are out to get 1 thing, I'm sure of it!"

Granite held up his hands and said, "I'm just being nice! She's too young for me, anyway!"

One of the agents was sitting right next to Johann across from Granite stood up from his seat and leaned over and just punched him hard in the shoulder. "Idiot! Look at her, she's probably scared of you!"

Granite rubbed his shoulder as he asked her, "You're not scared of me, are you? I don't really mean it, I mean... it's just co-workers going out. Nothing intimate at all."

She leaned in towards Granite and replied, "I know of this behavior. I am still in the age of adolescence, but I would rather refrain from it since it could interfere with this type of work, no?"

She was a girl after his own heart; she was hard-working clearly and she knew what she wanted. Too bad she wasn't looking for romance. After that scenario with Granite, he took this chance to talk to her again.  
"So, does your telekinesis help you vizh many duties on your mission?" Stupid question, but he just wanted to talk to her.

She shifted in her seat, "Yes, but it tends to be a bit troublesome for when I use it. On the missions in the field in Nippon, it is very handy, though for such occasions, I must know what the geography and terrain is like. As well as knowing what objects are there and where it is. Hence, I prefer office work to just fill out forms. It is much easier for me. However, my power is easily controlled, it is almost second nature as breathing to me."

He hesitated in his next question, it seemed to personel, but what the hell, "Does your... your eyes get in zhe vay of your vork?"

"M-m-my eyes?" she stutted to him. She didn't seem one to stutter, grammer mistakes maybe, but stuttering seemed unlikely.

Perhaps the question was too personel. "I'm sorry. It... the idea of a blind agent intrigues me. I'm curious about it."

She appeared much more at ease and answered professionally as though she had rehearsed the lines over and over, "No, my eyes does not get in the way of my work. I like to think of it in a way that it... improves me. I have no fear for I do not see anything, I am alert anyway so it is no trouble should there be another nuisance to add to it, and my hearing and intuition have also heightened phenomenally. Besides from that, I... forgive me should I sound like I brag, but I have a high degree in psychic power and I am able to read a few minds so having or not having eyes makes no difference to me, really."

"No shit, you can read minds?" Granite asked outloud, "Aren't you Jack of all trades."

She cleared her throat and waved her hand in front, "It is not as impressive as it sounds; I can read minds, though frequently not what they're thinking of, more of what has been stored in their memories. But this power tends to exhaust me and I do not use it very often."

"Amazing, you can read minds. At zhe base, ve have our own mind-reader as vell. Not just zhat, but he can look at zhe memories of objects. Even vizhout trying, all zhe information he could want from sonevone or somezhing comes to him."

She stiffened up. She didn't seem very comfortable as soon as he mentionned that. Perhaps she could not stand the idea of having another psychic working alongside with her. She coughed slightly and asked seriously all of a sudden, "This man... this man, can he really do that? Is his power that strong?"

One of the agents nodded answering for him, "Abe? Yeah, he's one of the best we have. Whenever we have an artifact that the lab can't deceipher, we usually bring it to Abe. He can see everything! Even shows _us_ what there is to see to!"

Her mouth opened up to say something, but closed like she had decided it would be better to keep quiet.  
Then without any warning, the car stopped at a red light abruptly and some of the members were thrown back. Granite and Quartz fell against each other. The result of them headbutting each other while the girl had a much better result. Or worse, depending on whose view it was through; his or Quartz. The impact had her, luckily, avoid the hit by the 2 men on both sides of her by falling forward.

She had landed right into Johann's lap! Her head was at his lower abdomen, her gloved hands clutching the sides of his thighs. A huge hiss of ectoplasm filled the car, even more than before when he was so angry with Granite for even try. The one advantage he could think of to not having a body was that he never got an erection. However the embarassment was that he always smoked out more ectoplasm when he was turned on.  
He heard her whimper out, "Oh my God."

His hands wavered over her, unsure of whether or not to leave her on his lap or pick her up himself.  
To be honest, he enjoyed the feeling of her on top of him. Her light weight pressing down over his canvas body, her soft parts molding over him, her bones just caging over his legs and her hair sprawled out over his legs.  
He couldn't help but let his mind wander if her hair would look the same if she was lying on the floor in his study. Her face was already so white, would it be possible if the skin on her arms, her legs, her stomach, her chest even was whiter than her face? Was it possible fo her ot be more white than the snow itself?

Thank God Abe wasn't here. He would just be horrified at seeing his thoughts.

Quartz yelled, "I know what you're thinking about! Keep your hands where I can see them!"  
That decided for him, he held his metal hands up high at the same level of his head. The agents at his side sat silently in their seats, just watching like it was all a movie to them. Granite sat back and his eyes were wide. Though the order to stay still was given to him, it wasn't given to the girl who stil had her head resting on his lap.

She rose up, Gott, even with her sunglasses on, she still looked so beautiful to him.  
Worse, it looked like she was prepared to give him a blow-job. She came closer to him as her body rose up, almost as though it was climbing up on him. All agents stood motionless and silent, even Quartz.  
Her hands graced his body upward. Traveling, feeling him, pressing against him. A slow hiss escaped him as she continued to do so. Her hands wrapped around his neck, clutching, still going up to his dome.

He could see a dark crimson blush growing darker and darker on her face as she continued to do so.  
How adorable it was. She was embarassed.

She smoothed her hands over and all he could see from his view was her breast area. The smoke came out in thick puffs. Her hands ran up and down all over him.  
From her pink lips came the words, "You... There is no face... "

* * *

She had thought Quartz was seeing things with this man.

That was why she disconnected the vision as soon as she saw him. It couldn't be real. Maybe he had been wearing a suit to protect him from germs and to keep his ectoplasm expellsion under control, but feeling him now verified that there couldn't possibly be a person in there.  
The poor man.  
Now left as nothing but ectoplasm in a suit, being made of completely as ectoplasm, being forced to live amongst the living when he should've died from whatever caused him this.

No.. she couldn't look at his memories, that would be too much. She didn't think that she would want to see what happened.  
Not at all.  
What _had_ happened to him?  
Should she just see now? No... she wasn't up to it.

Could she even attempt?  
Would the man still count as organic for her to do it?

The poor man.

The poor poor man.

* * *

Just hearing her say that.. made him wish that he hadn't had caught her.  
Was she frightened by him? He could still recall the shocked looks when the agents of the BPRD had seen him. They had told him that they had never see something like him. He hoped she wasn't like that. She couldn't be like that. She just couldn't. She had been in this line of work for a long time, since she was a a small child, she had to have seen everything in that way.  
What was so different about him?

She breathed out a light voice, "How long have you been like this?"

"I- I- I-" he stuttered.

There she was on his lap, her knee pressing into his crotch, while her legs straddled him, her hands still runnig over him so sensually. Couldn't she feel what she was doing to him? Couldn't she tell what she was doing to him now? Just a second ago, he was silently wishing that he hadn't had come and spooked her. But now he was getting something close as a lap dance from this young girl.  
What were the chances of something like this happening?

She tilted her head and her face came even closer to his, "What do you do in the BPRD? Are you a channelor? Tell me."

"I- I- I-" he still stuttered.

Why was she asking him all these questions? If he stil had a body, he would literally be gulping back his nervousness down his throat and his heart would be racing enough to give him a heart attack. Her face, he didn't think it was possible, came so impossibly close that he could swear their breaths, his imaginative and hers warm, were mingling.  
"Can you.. _feel_?"

"Feel?" he asked.  
The word was the only thing he could say so clearly. It was the one word that affected him so much. How she said it, how it rolled off her tongue that it just.. got him smoking. Not fizzing out ectoplasm like ebfore, but filling the car with long trails of smoke like smoke from cigarettes. His focus on the agents watching him melted away and came only to this girl in front of him who was filling up his entire view of the world.

She nodded her head, the blush still on her visage, "Can you still feel.... _warmth_? Can you feel _pain_? Can you feel a _touch_?"

The _tch_ from the word _touch_ just clicked off her teeth and he just wanted to place his hands right on her hips. What was she doing to him? Making him so nervous from first glance?  
Quartz spoke up, interrupting the moment, "Don't even think about touching her, Doc! Nancy, come back over here."

She nodded, still keeping her face so close to his, and then she rose up. Quartz stood up, his hands on her thin shuolders and gently pulled her back to sit between him and Granite. As she swiftly moved back, his hand brushed by her arm and he wanted to just clench his fingertips together to hold on to her. He didn't do it though.  
_Nancy?_  
Her name was Nancy? Then it hit him. No wonder... everything felt so familiar. That dark dark hair colour, those touches, those pink lips, her face, the aura that just rolled off of her like waves, even her name.

**She was his wife.**

Not like that in the literal sense, but everything about her reminded him of his late wife. But... there wasn't the possibilty of reincarnation... his stomach rolled as he recalled what happened decades ago, almost hitting the century spot in just a few more years.  
But he... he was loyal to his wife, he couldn't be in love with this girl. Even if he was in love, it wouldn't be right if he loved her to replace the spot left by his wife.  
But he was for sure, he was sure that what he was feeling for this girl was an attraction. No big deal, people were attracted to people everyday, even ones they had never met. It was just chemistry and appeal. Nothing else.  
However, he still couldn't place how strong the attraction for this Nancy girl was.

"Nancy? Your name is Nancy?" he asked.

She nodded to him, "Yes, Agent Quartz suggested long ago that I chose a western name so on missions it would be easier."

Out of all names, she had to have the one that sent him.... flying.

"That is a very nice name. I know a lot of pretty girls named Nancy."  
Wrong thing to say. What was he saying? Thoughts were okay, but to even say things or hint it ouloud was a no-no!

Quartz narrowed his view at him and demanded out loud, "Are you hitting on her? No one hits on her!"

Johann kept his head cool, though he was still startled by the outburst, "Agent Quartz, stop acting in such an action. You're acting like a jealous husband."

There was an awkward silence in the car. The only sounds were the car engine purring and Granite being all immature by saying, "Oooooohhhh..."

Quartz stood up with his left hand in front of his face, in the lights of the streets from the windows, a shiny silver band could be seen glinting off, "For your information, I'm already married. And here's a better part, the BPRD left me as guardian to Nancy so don't even think of asking her out."

Johann snapped back, "How dare you assume zhat, Agent Quartz! You are being ridiculous!"

Quartz pointed to his temple as a menacing smile crept upon his face, "You know Nancy's power. Do you even know why I was chosen out of all people to watch over her, to be her guide when there could possibly be more capable people than me?"

"You probably scared them to death with that creepy grin of yours." Granite said, interrupting the mood completely.

He turned his head back, "Shut up!" then turned his attention back to Johann, "Do you, Doc? Do you know why they trust me the most with her?"

Johann sat up straighter in his seat and said clearly with no expression but still sternly, "Nein."

He tapped to his temple once more, grinning as he did so, "I'm empathetic. That's right. I can tell what each of your are feeling right now, your emotions, your senses. I can feel them all!" His eyes rolled over to Granite, "You're just bored. You want to run, you're hyperactive."

A murmer went throughout the car, "Yeah... Granite always had some sort of disorder... maybe ADD."

He pointed to another agent, "You're hungry."

"Skipped lunch, late for dinner."

Another, "You... uhh... I don't think I should say it out loud. It's too R-rated for a lady to hear."

The agent admitted, "I know, I know. I can't help it, I have a new girlfriend."

"Huh."

"Yeah, thanks man for not saying it out loud."

Another, "You're greedy. All you're thinking about is your raise because you just got promoted or something."

Another, "You're... wow.. I like your thoughts more. You're wondering about work and if you'll have to fill out paperwork for this pick up. First time picking up an agent?"

"Yeah, I'm a hard worker."

He finally came to Johann. "But you. I think I should say your thoughts outloud, let Nancy hear them. I know what you're thinking about. At first, you felt sorry for her, didn't you. then you were getting jealous. Over me, I hope so, you ain't ever getting close to her while I'm watching her. And when she took off her mask and sunglasses, I told her not to, you just wanted to see her face for your own perverse pleasure! I know guys like you! I spent 10 years protecting her from guys like you! And when she fell on you. You didn't help her or anything! You just sat there and watched her like a cat. You were thinking of her... in ways you shouldn't. Besides, for your information, you won't even be able to do anything with her! I'm not letting you take advantage of her! Plus! You don't have a body, you can't do anything!"

He roared outloud, ectoplasm fizzing out, "You have no right to talk to me zhat vay! Nancy Le is eine attractive junge fraulein. I feel no shame in zhinking so! But zhe vay you isolate her from everybody, you ought to be ashamed of yourself!"

No one spoke at all. Only a few heaves of breaths. What was there to say after that outburst. Especially that ruffian who dared to say his thoughts outloud. It was honorable, nothing more! There was absolutely nothing wrong at all.

"Ummm..." Arkos hesitated, "We're here now. Everybody out of the car."

Everybody got out.

Johann walked behind while all the other agents walked ahead from the parking lot into the building. Johann was fuming. He thought that he could get in a good first impression. But now she probably thought all he was after was a piece of tail and ass. How could they even work together, let alone be in the same room. He hissed out a bit of ectoplasm as his clanking feet echoed on the marble floors in the hallways to the main office.

The men ahead of him, even Granite, were getitng into their serious mood ofor the sake of the arrival of the new agents to the base.

It wasn't his fault.  
No not at all. Gott, what would he say if one of the agents, especially Hellboy, were to remark and ask, "Hey, how come the newbies are avoiding you?"  
Gott, what would he say?  
How could he explain?  
He could be charged with sexual harassment perhaps if that Quartz went far enough to bring it like that! A heavy sigh escaped him.

* * *

Nancy spoke seriously to Quartz as they trailed behind the group of American agents, ''That was very rude, Agent Quartz.''

He replied in a tone that was like a child shamed that he had been caught stealing from the cookie jar, ''Nancy, do you know what it's like to hear his thoughts like that? It's infuriating, even more since you're like a daughter to me! I could't stand it! Didn't you try reading his thoughts?''

''No. I am not even sure if I can read his thoughts. You should know my limits, you were, after all, the one who tested and set them."

He nodded, his hand tightening around hers, "I just can't stand it! I don't want you to be hurt again. The first time, I was against the idea but I saw how happy he made you, more than I possibly could, so I was willing to let it happen. But no, as soon as I did, I started getting horrible visions of you and him. And what happened years ago..."

Her face immediately dropped as soon as he brought that up. She remembered so clearly. She knew it so well.  
It was all her fault back then. She blamed herself for what happened.  
If only..., she was more careful.  
If only she was more lenient to him.  
If only she had... if only she hadn't fought back against him over some argument, she couldn't even rememebr.

Obviously, he noticed her sadness. Her sadness was always the strongest emotion he could feel from her. "Nancy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up, but you have to think about how I felt back then. Watching you, seeing you get abused from everybody, letting them blame you, staying silent all the time, you even stopped smiling. What could I have done then but feel whatever you were feeling. It was too much then and I'm not going to let it happen again."

She stated clearly, "I am not going to fall in love on this mission. We will only be here for 1 year, 2 years at the most. What could I do while I am here besides work?"  
She slipped her hand out of his grip and shouted in front of her, "Dr. Krauss! Dr Krauss!"

* * *

He turned around to hear her voice calling.  
In mere moments, he was already by her side. Though she had walked a few yards toward him. All the other agents in front of the 3 looked back, he motioned them to go on ahead with his heavy metal hand.  
He noticed that Nancy had done the same with her guide, whispering, "Agent Quartz, you may make your way ahead. I just want to have a word with Dr Krauss."

Everyone went ahead, leaving just the 2 of them in the main hall. She grasped onto his hand so tight.

Wasn't she scared?  
Wasn't she disturbed?  
He was a bodyless freak, already, who... wanted her...  
Why did she still want to talk to him, let alone hold his hand?

Her clear voice rang in the vast hall, "Please, Dr. Krauss. We must not keep the others waiting. I just wanted to have a talk to you, it does not mean that we simply stop and stall everyone."

He nodded and led her slowly, his strides much smaller to match with her own. He never really noticed how small she was. Not just her size like out in the snow, but her height as well. She really did look like she was 14. She looked much too innocent, too young, too... _white_ to be in this line of work.  
No, monster blood, gore, slime, and all that sort of stuff wouldn't suit her at all.

She spoke again, interrupting his thoughts, "I want to apologize to you, Dr Krauss."

"Vhat for? You did nozhing wrong at all. I-"

She cut him off, "I am apologizing for my partner. I truly am sorry about him, but he is very protective of me as you saw before."

"Tell me about it." he said tiredly.  
She giggled. At least, he thought that she giggled. Maybe he was hearing things, maybe he was going delusional since he could've sworn he saw her smile slightly as well.

"Yes, but that is his nature. He did say he was married and he is already expecting his first child sometime in the next 2 months. Anyway, I just wanted to compensate for his outburst. We are going to be working together for a while and I would hate for there to be any sort of discomfort and/or distrust between us. We need not like each other, but we should be able to get along with each other."

He nodded to that, his neck creaking as he did so, "Ja, an agent named Hellboy didn't like me at first. I'm not sure if he even likes me now. But, ve get along, ve vork perfectly vell togezher und zhat's just fine. It's still sufficient enough for our vork."

Just as she pulled on her mask that she had gotten from her pocket, she asked him, "Hm... Forgive me for asking, but is it true? Do you find me attractive?"

"Vhat?"

She didn't respond to him, instead, she opened up a new subject, "What is this place like? I would like to know. Are there trees everywhere? How many monitors are here? Are the labs equipped with any models of the 4-ST converters?"

They turned into a hallway and met up with the other agents who stood there with their wrists in front of them and their toes tapping impatiently. Quartz gave him him the strongest glare ever. Johann simply brushed it off.  
He wondered why she had suddenly bombarded him with questions.  
Was she curious?  
Was she hinting something else instead?  
What was it?

He answered her as thoroughly as he could, still reminding himself of the fact that she was blind and questioning how he could really show her what the BPRD was like here.

* * *

Dr Krauss was an interesting man.

There was something about him to her.

He was endearing, he was careful as Quartz was with her, and he was... simply nice.

Perhaps she could make friends here. Maybe start anew and be happy for a little while before she returned to her native land miserable as ever.

He seemed the most genuine.

Besides, surely he wouldn't find out anything about her. Surely not, he would't ever know.

But she was still concerned by the fact that there was a psychic at this base as well.  
Hm, it had been a while since she had done so, but it looked like she would have to put up her shield.

A mind was a wonderous thing, filled with many knowledge, many methods, but many dark secrets as well. A secret was a private thing that could only be shared when it was allowed.

She wouldn't dare dream of allowing her secret to be heard, seen, or known.

She wouldn't dare dream of it.

* * *

Quartz was pissed off.  
As they rode down the elevator to the lower floors to meet most of the other agents and get aquainted, he willed himself to be in his happy place and not punch Johann square in the bubble for still talking to her.

How dare he?  
Well, he wouldn't let him take advantage of his little girl!

His eyes rolled to the 2 of them and he noticed that Nancy was still holding onto Johann's hand. By pure instinct, he reached out his hand to her other hand and held on tight.

Okay, maybe he had a few daddy/daughter issues to deal with, but... maybe he didn't want Nancy to grow up so soon and be on her own. Finding someone else to take care of her, taking care of herself, and not needing him anymore.

He would let her go in a few more years, but for now, she was his little girl and he was still going to be a father to her.

* * *

**And so, that's it. I hope you enjoyed that fanfic. I hope you sort of realized what attracted Johann to Nancy in the first place. I, myself, didn't even have any ideas how it happened, but I was determined to find out. Still 'they' wouldn't tell me, so I simply 'made one up'. ...I must sound stupid, talking about them like they're real and I'm actually interviewing them and writing out their story. Wow... I'm pathetic. Anyway, please review and please answer my poll.**

**Plus, here are some thank-yous to those who voted on the poll....**

* * *

**Johann;  
**Danke for voting for me on the poll! I really hope zhat zhe auzhor Ngoc Chau lets me have zhe beautiful Nancy Le!

**Nancy;  
**Thank you for voting. I humbly appreciate it, though...** (blush)**

**Abe;  
**I think I was supposed to be the main love interest. **(sigh)** But what does it matter? I am going to stay faithful to Nuala's memory. Thank you anyway to those who voted for me.

**Hellboy;  
**I just got a guest appearance here. I'm rooting for Abe here! My pal needs a girl who's not dead or turned to stone. Plus someone who can cheer him up! That Johann already had someone, a girlfriend or a wife, I've seen the ring! So anyway, Johann doesn't need anyone, Abe does. End of question; vote for him! .... Oh, thanks to those who voted on the poll-y thing.

**Liz;**  
Abe really needs someone. That's why I picked a girl to fill in for me for a while until the little hellboys come out. They have so much in commen, I could tell it right away! They're both psychic, they're both strong, they're both smart... How could they not see that they're perfect for each other? Thanks for voting out there guys, but vote for Abe next time or have your friends know about this love triangle and let them vote.

**Granite;  
**Cool! I got a spot on here! Anyway, I think you guys should vote for Johann. They seemed real lovey-dovey just like in that one movie where everyone says that they're right for each other, but they avoid it, but still they somehow know and they just hint it to each other. ... I wonder what that movie was called again.  
Oh yeah, thanks for voting.

**Manning;  
**How did that guy get a spot above me? I mean, I'm more of an important character and that guy's an OC for all we know. You actually saw me in the movies! But if I had a choice... I'd say Johann. I mean, just like Liz and Hellboy, when they fall in love, something's gotta come out of it, right? I don't want to see... more fish guys running around when there's going to be little red guys scampering everywhere. Johann... don't tell him I said this, but he can't make kids so it's more of a safety issue for me. **(card is being handed to Manning)** Oh, it says this; "Thank you for voting on the poll."

**Quartz;  
**.... I'm not thanking anyone. Guys, just listen, Nancy doesn't ned a guy in her life, she's perfectly independent. Plus... she's only 17, she's to young to date. I- **(gets grabbed by Ngoc Chau)**

**Ngoc Chau;  
**Okay, that's the end of our thank-yous. Please don't forget to review and go to my poll. That's the end of that for today.


End file.
